Chapter Text
Looking up at the sky, all the soft blues hidden behind dark clouds, Kei closed the door behind him and with a tired groan, he started walking towards the university campus. His house was not too far away, but the weather was unpredictable these days, the clear sky changing to stormy clouds without any warning.
Kei didn't mind the cold weather, he even preferred it over hot and humid summer days. The low temperatures didn't bother him, his body running hot even during the coldest days of the year. But the fickle weather made the constant itch under his skin worse, the need to run, to hunt almost overwhelming, leaving him restless. Usually, he was able to ease his mind by being active, going for a run or dancing until he was too tired to feel anything else than the ache deep inside his bones.
Now, with the new semester starting, no matter how many kilometres he ran, or how many hours he spent in the practice room, the itch that was spreading through his veins never faded. It only got a little better when he shifted, the free spirit of his wolf making him forget all of his worries. But living in the city, he didn't get as many chances to shift as he would like, the concrete landscape not suitable for hunting. He also had to be careful to hide from all the unsuspecting humans as seeing full-size wolves running through the streets was not normal.
Rolling his shoulders to get rid of the tension, Kei pushed through the crowd, trying to reach his destination as fast as possible. He hated the city and its cramped streets. He hated how easily he got overwhelmed by all the noises and scents that were attacking him from all directions, not letting him breathe. One of the cars stuck in the morning rush hour stopped too quickly. Walking by Kei could hear the brakes screeching, the piercing noise hurting his ears. He could also smell the cheap perfume of the man pushing past him, the intrusive scent almost making him gag.
All his instincts were screaming at him to run away, to get out of the crowd, something he couldn't do no matter how much he wished he could. There were people that relied on him, trusting him to take care of them. He couldn't leave them behind. They were all he had left.
With that not-so-happy thought, he finally reached the campus, the crowd diluted enough for him to take a deep breath without feeling the urge to hide. Finding the room he had his first class of the day in, and walking as quickly as possible without straight up running, he could feel the stares digging into his back as sharp as knives. He welcomed them as old friends, their weight nothing new to him. He knew exactly who was following his every move. He could feel their presence as they tried to hide from his sight. No matter how much they hated him, how much they resented him and his family, their fear was stronger.
They were terrified of him, each and one of them. He was in their nightmares. A monster that should be avoided at all costs.
And they had a good reason to be afraid of him. The wolf that lost control and went insane, turning no more than berserk, the full moon bestowing her power on him. Killing everything that got too close, stopping after everybody that hurt his family was scattered around, their bodies without a trace of life in them. And the fortunate ones that were able to run away told the horrors of that night to their pack members, the tales of Kei’s rage spreading like wildfire, creating a monster out of the boy.
It was a price Kei was glad to pay. For his family, or for what he had left of it after the attack. It was the only thing that saved them that day. Kei’s berserk gave them time to save as many of them as they could. And there weren't many. Out of all the people in their old pack, their families and their friends, only seven survived the attack.
It was only because of Kei, the other pack was terrified of him enough to let them be, establishing a fragile truce between the two packs.
That happened years ago, but Kei could still smell their fear every time he crossed paths with the wolves. And most of them were clever enough to avoid him, to bow their heads when he was walking past them, their wolves recognising the beast that was living just under Kei’s skin. But there were also the more foolish ones, those who were unable to get their competitive wolf under control, wanting revenge for their fallen pack members. Their wolves challenged him every time they had the chance to do so, getting even angrier when Kei did nothing in return.
They were idiots, all of them. Because of their open hatred towards Kei, even humans noticed that something was not right, unknowingly stepping out of their way. They probably didn’t even know they were doing it. Maybe it was some long-forgotten instinct but they all sensed the monster in Kei, acting like he was not there at all.
And it was better that way, Kei thought as he reached his class. He had his family and that was all he needed. He put his head on the table and closed his eyes, ignoring all the annoying noises that were constantly surrounding him. The classroom was almost full, all the students trying to find a place to sit, their conversations mixing together, creating an annoying buzz that made Kei’s head hurt. And it was just his first class of the semester but there was only one more year to suffer through. One more year and he would be free.
He survived the lesson. The lecturer talked about all the different marketing strategies the most well-known football clubs had but Kei couldn't care less. He was probably the only one in his class that didn’t give a single flying fuck about football and couldn’t name more football players than his family members. In his humble opinion, football was overrated.
Having some free time before he needed to go to the dance studio, he decided to spend it in the library. Not to study, but to have the same short nap. It was too early in the semester for a desperate study session in the library. And if he was lucky, Eujoo or Nicholas were going to be there too, to keep him company. The two boys were the only two members of his pack old enough to be at university, both of them in their second year. And while the other pack bothered mostly Kei, the two boys didn't have it that much better. And so the three of them stuck together, taking care of one another.
While walking through the halls filled with students, he tried really hard not to growl, not to let his frustration be obvious on his face. He didn't mind people avoiding him but he didn't want them to be afraid of him, to be terrified to look at him. He could sense their caution, sometimes even a fear, and it just made him bitter. It also made his wolf restless.
As he entered the big library he was hit by a new scent that made him stumble, almost losing his balance. Kei knew how all the wolves in the other pack smelled, he could recognise them all without even seeing them but he never smelled this wolf before. And he was sure that the person was a shifter just like he was, it was easy to tell them and normal humans apart by just their scent. No matter how long shifters went without shifting, there was still a wolf inside them.
But while the scent certainly belonged to the shifter, Kei had never sensed something like that before. The unknown scent was sweet but not smothering his senses. With each breath Kei took, the smell was draping over him like a warm blanket. He could feel his wolf calming down just by being near the other wolf. The constant itch under his skin subdued to a muted humming. The sensation was so unexpected Kei struggled to breathe. His wolf was a monster, maybe hidden but staying just under the surface. His wolf felt almost peaceful for the first time since the attack.
Looking around frantically, Kei tried to find the source of the scent. He managed to track the shifter, trying to evade all the tables and sitting areas without losing the trace. Turning around the corner to one of the more deserted areas, he was met with a boy standing in front of a high bookshelf.
The moment Kei appeared, almost falling over his own feet, the other boy spun around, staring at him with wide eyes. Being so close to the boy, there was no doubt he was a shifter, a shifter Kei had never seen before. He was almost as tall as Kei, maybe only a centimetre or two shorter, with unstyled messy hair that covered his eyes. Even his clothes looked messy, a pair of washed jeans with an oversized hoodie that made his frame look smaller and more fragile than he was. Altogether, the boy was somebody you wouldn't spare a second glance at, somebody who blended with the crowd easily. Kei was sure that the look, from the hair to the ill-fitting clothes, was perfectly calculated. The boy was hiding from something.
Just thinking about it made Kei freeze, his wolf, calm till that point, waking up, trying to get to the surface, and hunt anybody who wanted to harm the boy in front of him. The reaction of his wolf was so strong and sudden that he stumbled on his feet and had to make a step forward to the boy to not lose his balance entirely. His movement made the boy take a step back, his eyes getting even wider if that was even possible. Kei froze, shielding himself from the inevitable smell of fear coming from the boy. It always came, no matter how hard Kei tried.
But the sour scent of fear never came. The boy looked at him with caution and distrust but not fear, his scent still as sweet as when Kei first sensed it. Slowly, as if he was dealing with a cornered animal, which he kinda was, the boy took a book from the shelf, all of his movements slow and measured. He did everything he could to make himself look harmless and not to wake up Kei’s wolf even more. When he was sure Kei wasn't going to attack him, he bowed to him, a low bow that exposed his neck to Kei, a sign of obedience. Without saying a word, he put Kei above himself, recognising his wolf as the stronger, more dominant out of the two of them.
Before Kei had time to react, the boy turned around and disappeared into the endless maze of bookshelves, leaving only his sweet scent behind. Kei wanted to follow him but what the boy just did was a pretty obvious way to say he does not want to be bothered. He made sure to tell Kei that he was no threat to him or his pack but wanted nothing to do with them.
Looking at where the boy disappeared, he was even more confused than before. He did not belong to the other pack and if he did, he had to join them recently since he saw him for the first time. And then there was also his scent. Kei still had no idea what happened with his wolf who was now, without the soothing presence of the sweet scent, starting to wake up.
Shaking his head to try and clear his head, he also turned around and walked the opposite way to find Euijoo or Nicholas. He was pretty sure that he sensed Nicholas’ scent while he was walking through the library. And where Nicholas was, Euijoo was never far behind. And he had to talk to Euijoo anyway. As the leader of their little pack, he had to know about a new wolf on their territory, be it a new member of the other pack, which was somewhat unlikely, or a lone wolf, which was also rather unusual but not unheard of. Kei didn't meet many lone wolves in his life, most of them not surviving long enough, the wolf packs being rather territorial and not wanting any wild wolves running around, but he knew that they existed. By the wolf’s behaviour, it seemed like he wanted to have nothing to do with him or his pack so it was useless to try and figure it all out, even when the wolf’s unusual scent still lingered in the air, making it really hard for him to concentrate.
&
With all of his muscles aching from the hours he spent in the dance studio, Kei was walking back home. It was already late, the sky dark, and he was tired. All he wanted to do was to take a shower, eat some food and go to bed. Nothing more. Of course, his wishes were not heard out by the almighty gods.
When he opened the front door, he was immediately met by chaos and loud screaming coming from all directions. So, nothing unusual for them. Taking his time, he took off his shoes and coat and walked to the living area which was just a conjoined kitchen, dining area and living room, the open space taking up almost half of the first floor of their house. He put his backpack on the dining table and dodged the yelling Taki who came out running out of nowhere with experienced ease. Maki was just a second behind, their youngest not having much luck and barreling straight into Kei with a loud huff.
“Hello there,” Kei said, ruffling Maki’s hair.
“Kei!” the boy didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that Taki was gone, already forgetting why he was even chasing the other boy, his attention elsewhere. He happily left Kei to smother him in a hug, grinning up at him.
Taki, probably realising that nobody was chasing him anymore, circled back, throwing himself at Kei from behind, making Kei stumble slightly. Reaching backwards to pet Taki’s head, he turned around the room so he could greet the rest of the boys there.
Euijoo and Jo were in the kitchen, finishing up their dinner for all of them. Euijoo was cutting vegetables, not even looking up from what he was doing while he greeted Kei. Jo waved at him, his smile adorable as always.
“How was practice?” Euijoo asked as he took the prepared food, all the plates stacked on his palms in a very unstable tower, and put it on the dining table, Jo trailing right behind him with the rest.
“Okay. It was good to see some of them again.” While most of the students avoided him, he managed to make some friends in the dance group he was part of. They didn't really talk outside of school or anything like that, but they were not afraid of him as everybody else was and Kei appreciated it.
“That’s good.” Euijoo nodded, very much aware of all the shit Kei was going through at school, not having it much better himself. “You’re right on time. Dinner!” he yelled the last word loud enough for all of them to hear as he arranged the plates on the table. Kei could hear a few affirmative shouts from somewhere in the house, followed by quick footsteps. Just as Taki and Maki untangled themself from Kei and sat in their designated places, Nicholas and Yuma joined them. On his way to the table, Nicholas kissed Euijoo’s cheek as walked past the boy and sat right next to him, his hand firm on his shoulder, making his boyfriend sit down as well, ignoring all of his protests. Kei took the last dishes to the table so Euijoo had no excuse to stand back up, and joined them. When they all finally sat down, a mindless chatter filled the room, all the wolves talking about their first day of a new school year.
For a moment, Kei just leaned back and looked at the people around him. This was all he had left, his family around one table. His six younger brothers he would die for — and he almost did. They were what made him go forward, what made him fight each day so he could be the older brother they all so desperately needed after their pack was killed. And at the beginning, it was bad, so, so bad. None of them knew what they were doing, exhausted and pushed to their knees by the sorrow they felt when the bonds they had with their pack disappeared one by one.
But step by step, they got better, and they learned how to work together, how to live next to each other and not to lose their minds. They all lived together at the pack house, a place where the leader of the pack lived and which had an open policy for all the pack members that lived elsewhere. Before the attack, it was where Kei lived with his older brother, the former leader of their pack. After his death, they all expected Kei to step up in his place. He was the eldest of the surviving members and his wolf was powerful and dominant. But it didn't take long for them to realise that it was not something he was comfortable with. While his wolf was powerful enough to lead the pack, he was also unstable, the berserk still too close to the surface for Kei to trust himself with the leading position. So it was Euijoo instead who replaced Kei’s older brother, pushing them all forwards with his gentle approach and unwavering steps.
It took them some time to adjust to living together, the house was fortunately spacious enough for all of them to have their own room. They were lucky that their old pack was financially very stable before the attack so they didn't have to worry about money for the time being. The oldest boys had part-time jobs but it was mostly so they could spend their own money on their things and not waste the pack's money. If they didn't do anything reckless, they should be fine and Kei was glad that at least this was something they didn't need to worry too much about. He did not take these small victories for granted.
Pushing the unkind thoughts away before they could ruin his mood entirely, Kei reached for the food before it was plundered by the youngest. He was sure the boys were inhaling the food, not chewing it as normal people did. He loved them but if he wanted to eat he had to be quick or he would have nothing left.
“Uhmm by the way….” Taki spoke loud enough to be heard by the common noise, mouth still half full as he chewed. “There was a new shifter at school.”
That statement definitely got the attention of everybody around the table, all eyes on Taki, expecting the boy to continue with the story. But he didn't really look like he was going to do that, digging into his food with newfound gusto.
“Explain, please,” Euijoo sighed, putting his chopsticks down, the wrinkle between his brows already there.
“There was a new transfer kid at school,” it was Jo who started to talk. It was probably for the best. Kei loved all of his kids equally but Jo was the only one whom he could be sure was always telling the truth. Jo was an angel and even if he was naive, there was not a single bad bone in his body in Kei’s humble opinion. He was also the only one that still had some respect for the elderly, so maybe that was it.
“It was pretty obvious that he’s a shifter but by the way he was acting, he’s not a new member of the other pack. If he is then they’re not treating him properly. He made sure not to get too close to other shifters,” Jo continued with his brows furrowed. It was obvious that he wanted to know who the lone wolf was and what he was doing in their territory.
All the other boys were nodding in agreement, which did not stop them from stuffing their mouths with more food than was necessary.
“He was so cuuute ,” Taki exclaimed, almost poking Yuma’s eyes out with his chopstick. “He has these huge puppy eyes and he is so small, like a cute doll. And his scent… there was something so sweet about his scent.”
The last comment made Kei snap his head up, meeting Euijoo’s eyes across the table. Without the remark about the wolf’s smell, it could all be one big coincidence but he was starting to think that the wolf he met that day in the library was somehow connected to the wolf the boys met at school.
“Didn’t you say something similar about the wolf you met today, Kei?” Euijoo said out loud. It seemed like he was not the only one making the connection between the two wolves.
“Kei also met a new wolf today?” Maki asked, almost jumping from his seat with excitement. It was only Euijoo’s stern look that made him sit back down.
“Uhm… yeah I did,” Kei said, distracted. He already said everything, well maybe not everything , to Euijoo and Nicholas when he met them in the library but it was just fair to tell the rest of the boys. “He’s probably the same year as me. I’m sure he does not belong to the other pack, his scent didn't match theirs. But he made it clear that he does not want to talk to me so…” he shrugged, trying to look as unbothered as he could, a memory of the unknown wolf’s scent still making his head spin.
“So… we have not one but two new lone wolves here. In a territory where there are already two packs that are not really fond of each other,” Yuma summed it up, lifting one of his eyebrows at Kei as if he wanted to ask if he didn't forget something important.
Kei just nodded. He didn't like it at all but there was nothing he could do about it without making the situation they were in even worse.
“Just… try to ignore him. Act as if he was a member of the other pack, okay?” Nicholas spoke up, his head tilted at one side, brows furrowed. Knowing him, he probably went through every possible scenario and was coming up with the best solution. “I don't think they are a threat. It seems like they want nothing with either of us but we should be careful. Let’s see how the other pack is going to react to them. They could try to make them join the pack or make them leave the territory. Maybe they’re just passing through but that seems unlikely. They wouldn't start attending school if that was their plan. Ignore them, let them make the first contact — if they ever make one. Okay?”
Everybody hummed, taking Nicholas’s words in. It was a good plan and it could even work but looking at the wide shining eyes of their youngest, Kei was sure that they were going to find a way to adopt the unsuspecting child in weeks, maybe even days. If it was only the older wolf Kei met in the library, the plan would be foolproof. The boy made it clear that he didn't want to talk to any of them. But it seemed like the second one was just a lonely child and if he was not going to fight back, he was going to be tangled in a web of their youngest wolves before even suspecting a thing. It was a plan destined to fail and Kei hoped that Nicholas knew it as well. Judging by the long-suffering sigh, he knew perfectly what was going to happen.